Heavy duty vehicles such as tractor trailers and large towing vehicles include a fifth wheel, which is a plate on the truck chassis to which a trailer kingpin is secured. When the trailer is detached from the chassis, the fifth wheel is exposed subjecting the lubricant thereon to contamination by road debris and thus potential damage. Accordingly, there is currently a need for a method of protecting an exposed fifth wheel plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,914 belonging to Murcheson discloses a fifth wheel slipcover for a bearing plate of a fifth wheel of a tractor. The cover includes a pair of formed sleeves at one end thereof for slidably receiving the spaced apart ramp portions of the bearing plate therein. A drawstring is provided at the opposing end of the cover for retaining the opposing end secured beneath the edge of the bearing plate. The structure of the sleeves requires awkward alignment of the cover with the ramp portions of the bearing plate which can interfere with proper fit of the cover on the bearing plate. The cover may also be poorly secured due to the draw cord which only extends partway about the periphery at the opposing end of the cover.